Detectives concerned over workload

7 December 2017

Almost three quarters of the Force's detectives believe their workload was either too high or much too high.

And low morale and stress are continuing to cause problems for officers.

The localised results of the Police Federation National Detectives' Forum survey of detectives across England and Wales during September this year have just been released. The survey was carried out between 1 and 24 September.

And the results paint a damning picture of the problems facing Leicestershire detectives with 74 per cent saying they simply have too much to do, while 58 per cent of them said they had little time to keep up to date with the latest developments in their chosen role.

Results also showed that more than a third (38 per cent) of Leicestershire detectives have taken time off work in the last 12 months due to issues with their physical health and wellbeing.

A total of 47 per cent of respondents said their job was either very or extremely stressful and 70 per cent believe the role of a detective was deemed to be less important than it used to be. Alarmingly, only a third of respondents said their workload enabled them to provide the service needed to victims either most or all of the time while only 26 per cent said they were able to provide the service needed to witnesses either most or all of the time. 

Leicestershire Police Federation chairman Tiff Lynch said officers were desperate to do a professional job but were constantly finding obstacles in their way. 

"If three quarters of our detectives believe they have too much work to do, it illustrates the challenges they are facing as a profession," says Tiff.

"Despite their efforts to do a professional job, the demands of the role are hampering them at almost every turn. "When they are also struggling to find time to keep up to date with the latest training and developments, it is no wonder so many of them are having time off with wellbeing issues.

"High levels of stress were also prevalent in the report on a local and national scale and these figures need to be addressed. "Chief officers, the College of Policing and the Government need to both listen and act. If we continue to fail the people who work in these roles then we ultimately fail the victims we aim to protect."

Nationally, there was a similarly bleak picture with 35 per cent of detectives across all forces taking time off work in the 12 months because of ill health, compared to 37 per cent in Leicestershire. And 48 per cent saying they stressful jobs - one per cent higher than the Leicestershire figure.